 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
William Campbell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Campbell inThe High and the Mighty (1954) | |
| Born | (1923-10-30)October 30, 1923 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | April 28, 2011(2011-04-28) (aged 87) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1950–1996 |
| Spouses | |
William Campbell (October 30, 1923[1] – April 28, 2011[2]) was an American actor who appeared insupporting roles in majorfilm productions, and also starred in several low-budgetB-movies andhorror films.
Campbell's film career began in 1950, with a small part in theJohn Garfield filmThe Breaking Point. After several years of similar supporting performances in a number of films, including as a co-pilot inWilliam Wellman'sThe High and the Mighty (1954), he won his first starring role inCell 2455 Death Row (1955), a low-budget prison film forColumbia Pictures. He played adeath row inmate, based loosely on the true story ofCaryl Chessman, who staunchly proclaimed his innocence and obtained numerous reprieves over many years until finally being executed. Campbell's surprisingly powerful performance received generally good notices from critics, but it did very little for his career;[citation needed] his next several roles were again providing support to lead actors, includingMan Without a Star (1955),Love Me Tender (1956) in which he became the first person to lip sync portions of a song onscreen (actually recorded on August 24, 1956, by the Ken Darby Trio)[citation needed] withElvis Presley, andthe 1958 film version ofNorman Mailer'sThe Naked and the Dead.
In 1958, Campbell co-starred withPaul Birch inCannonball,[3] a short-livedtelevision series about truck drivers. After that, he worked for more years in small parts in increasingly lower grade movies.
Campbell made two guest appearances onPerry Mason in 1959 and 1960. In his first appearance he played the title character and murder victim Allen Sheridan in "The Case of the Artful Dodger," then he played murderer and title character Jim Ferris in "The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker."
In 1963, Campbell began a brief association withRoger Corman, starring in the director'sThe Young Racers that year. The auto-racing-themed movie, written for the screen by Campbell's brotherRobert Wright Campbell, was shot in Ireland. After production was completed, the film's sound man,Francis Ford Coppola, talked Corman into allowing Coppola to remain in Ireland with a small crew and direct a low-budget horror film, to be produced by Corman. Coppola promised it would be the cheapest film Corman was ever involved in. Shot for approximately $40,000, the resultant film,Dementia 13 (1963), was an atmospheric and violent horror thriller clearly made in imitation ofPsycho.[citation needed] Campbell starred as a moody loner who at one point becomes the chief suspect in a series of gruesome axe killings;Patrick Magee andLuana Anders led the supporting cast. Many years later, Campbell would provide anaudio commentary for the film'sDVD release.
Campbell also starred in another Corman-produced horror yarn. Filmed in 1963 inYugoslavia under the titleOperacija Ticijan, again with Magee in the cast, the film was never released in its original form. It was re-edited, re-dubbed, and briefly shown on television asPortrait in Terror. Years later, additional footage was shot in California, first byJack Hill, then byStephanie Rothman, transforming what was once a spy thriller into the story of avampire stalking the streets ofVenice, California. RetitledBlood Bath, although it also became known asTrack of the Vampire, the film received a limited theatrical release in 1966. Campbell also filmedThe Secret Invasion in Yugoslavia, directed by Roger Corman and written by his brother Robert Wright Campbell. Campbell was the only one of the team of commandos not given screen credit above the title.
One year previously in 1965 he landed a supporting role as a reporter in the classic suspense horror;Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte. InBlood Bath Campbell's character was an artist who killed women and hid their bodies inside his sculptures; he is also a vampire who can freely walk during the daylight in search of victims. However, the fanged vampire was confusingly played by another actor who did not resemble Campbell. LikeDementia 13, the film has managed to develop a following despite its deficiencies. In the early 1990s,Video Watchdog magazine devoted lengthy articles in three separate issues painstakingly detailing the convoluted production history of this strange but fascinating movie.
Campbell had guest-starring roles in theStar Trek franchise, appearing first as the mischievous super-beingTrelane in an episode ofthe original series called "The Squire of Gothos".[4] Campbell also appeared twice as theKlingon CaptainKoloth. Campbell first played Koloth on the originalStar Trek series in the episode "The Trouble with Tribbles". He reprised the role on the seriesStar Trek: Deep Space Nine episode entitled "Blood Oath", some thirty years later.[5] Campbell appeared at several Trek conventions in the 1980s and 1990s. His last appearance was at the convention organized byCreation Entertainment at theLas Vegas Hilton in August 2006.
Campbell served in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II on a minesweeper in the Pacific theater.[6]
Campbell was married twice. His first marriage was toJudith Exner in 1952. They divorced in 1958.[6] He married Tereza in 1963. They were married until his death.[6]
Campbell is a relative ofJeff Janiak, vocalist of the bandDischarge.[7]
Campbell died on April 28, 2011, at theMotion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital inWoodland Hills, California.[8]
